The Run for the Roses racks up a big audience; Comcast and Disney have an NFL Network stare down; the Timberwolves’ Matthew Caldwell talks basketball media issues

The Run for the Roses racks up a big audience; Comcast and Disney have an NFL Network stare down; the Timberwolves’ Matthew Caldwell talks basketball media issues

From The Sports Media Podcast by Sports Business Journal

May 6, 2026 · 25 min · Episode 244

About this episode

The episode discusses the record audience for the Kentucky Derby, a carriage dispute between Disney and Comcast over NFL Network, and features an interview with Matthew Caldwell about basketball media issues.

On this week's pod, SBJ media reporters Austin Karp and Josh Carpenter saddle up to break down the biggest Kentucky Derby audience since 1983. Then, it’s the latest on a carriage dispute between Disney and Comcast over NFL Network and why Duke basketball made sense for Amazon Prime Video. Finally, Matthew Caldwell of the T’Wolves and Lynx dishes why he moved from the NHL to the NBA, fan reaction to Year 1 of the new NBA media deals, what’s next for the two teams on local distribution and his favorite Army-Navy game memories.

People in this episode

Hosts: Austin Karp, Josh Carpenter

Guest: Matthew Caldwell

Topics covered

  • Kentucky Derby audience
  • Disney Comcast carriage dispute
  • NBA media deals
  • Matthew Caldwell interview
  • NHL to NBA transition
  • local distribution
  • Army-Navy game memories

Keywords

  • Kentucky Derby
  • Comcast
  • Disney
  • NFL Network
  • Matthew Caldwell
  • NBA media deals
  • local distribution
  • Army-Navy game

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Comcast, Disney, NFL Network, Amazon Prime Video, T’Wolves, Lynx

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